Saturday, March 10, 2007

Sedona Suites (Executive Apartments)

I WAS WALKING AROUND HO CHI MINH CITY THIS MORNING AFTER ARRIVING BACK IN THE CITY LAST NIGHT, FOR MY FIRST VISIT IN MORE THAN 10 YEARS. What struck me more than anything, after so long an absense, was the plethora of hotels and executive living arrangements which have sprung up, particularly in the Saigon district. Saigon is literally thronging with gorgeous new hotels and hip boutiques and restaurants and swinging bars; on almost every block there are building sites aplenty, promising further luxury. One development which is already up and running and attracting attention from the Ho Chi Minh City expat community, is Sedona Suites. Located on Le Loi Boulevard within walking distance to many banks, airline offices and entertainment options, Sedona Suites is a sanctuary of elegance and style that combines the comforts of home with the convenience of hotel facilities (that's a lift from Holiday City.) There are 89 one to three-bedroom units; room facilities include: satellite television,
local & IDD telephone,
bathroom with long bath and separate shower compartment,
wardrobes,
Intercom,
laundry machines,
water filtration system,
VCR and Hi-Fi System,
100% electricity back-up and
safes & security surveillance.
King-sized beds are draped with 100% cotton duvets.
The fully equipped kitchen boasts electric cooker hood, cabinet and oven.

Sunday, March 04, 2007

Changing Face of Ho Chi Minh City (Otherwise Known as Saigon)

BIG CHANGES ARE ON THEIR WAY FOR THE VIETNAMESE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY. As Final Word (A British English Teacher in Saigon) reported on his blog today: "HCMC (Ho Chi Minh City) by 2020 could be a very different place. So many projects are underway or being planned, and so many dollars are being poured into the economy by foreign investors, the only way is up, surely? Promisingly, a lot of the focus is based on infrastructure, a hugely important part of facilitating yet more rapid growth for Vietnam and the surrounding region. Other areas are real estate and tourism.

"In the near future we should see the completion of more high rise luxury apartments, shopping centers and hotels. The $265 million Kumho Asiana Plaza project finally resumed in October after being delayed for 10 years. It sits on the site that used to be Saigon Square, and is due to be completed in 2009. Saigon Happiness Square is a massive development underway that I mentioned before in D5. It's costing its Taiwanese investors $468 million, containing offices, shopping and a hotel. Saigon's tallest building is also under construction...

"On top of this newly shaped city center, the construction of the Saigon Metro system should finally have begun. As the widely read International Railway Journal stated in September 2004:

"'Feasibility studies for two metro lines totaling 21km in Vietnam's largest city, Ho Chi Minh City, are due to be submitted to the government in October. If all goes well, construction could start by the end of this year and the metro could open by 2008'...

"The new International Airport at Long Thanh is scheduled to have phase 1 finished by 2010, as Wikipedia reports, with further development planned into 2015 and beyond. This will allegedly include a high speed road link to the site 40kms from the city.

"The most recent big project to be announced is the construction of a high speed rail link from HCMC to Hanoi. This was reported across the world including Auntie. As the article says, it'll cut the journey from a mind boggling 2 days to a much more reasonable 10 hours, and it will only cost $33 billion, and the government claims that it can be completed in 6 years (the contractors want 9, I remember reading). This could become the jewel in the crown of the ASEAN rail network, which is seeking to complete by 2015. As this article from the People's Daily explains, the missing links are mainly in Cambodia -- once finished, the railway will be linked from Hanoi (and therefore into China and beyond to the Trans Siberian) to Singapore..."

Imagine the day when you can catch a train from London to Singapore via Russia, Siberia, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia. That would be one epic journey, and a worthy alternative to flying once jetliner carbon taxes start kicking in later into the 21st Century.

Friday, March 02, 2007

Why is Vietnamese Real Estate So Expensive?

VIETNAM HAS LONG HAD A REPUTATION FOR BEING ONE OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE COUNTRIES IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA TO BUY A PROPERTY, WITH PRICES COMPARABLE WITH THOSE OF DEVELOPED COUNTRIES. Consequently, Vietnam has never been seen as a bargain when it comes to investing in real estate, especially compared with its more glamorous neighbors such as Thailand. However, there are signs of change in the beautiful land of Vietnam, and its day of arrival on the global real estate investment stage may well be nigh. As the Asia Property Report news service reported in January 2007: "In the eyes of local and foreign investors, the Vietnamese real estate market has entered a period of golden chances.

"One of the reasons for the increasingly dynamic development of the market was the State's promulgation of documents to guide the implementation of the Common Investment Law and the Housing Law, creating a clear legal framework for the sector, which foreign investors have been waiting for.

"Another reason was the country's accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which flung open the door for its finance market -- an important gateway for foreign investors to participate in the real estate business.

"Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dang Hung Vo joined many economic experts in expressing optimism for the real estate market in 2007 after a two year freeze period.

"The Deputy Minister explained that the newly felt optimism was based on several factors such as Vietnam's WTO accession, the US ratification of Permanent Trade Normal Relations (PNTR) with Vietnam and a record of official development assistance (ODA) capital pledged by international donors for 2007."

"He said these factors enhanced Vietnam's attractiveness for foreign investment, including investment in real estate.

"Vo also said that high participation of foreign investors would help to reduce the prices of houses in Vietnam, which in recent times, have exceeded the financial capabilities of most of the population..."

Bat Dong San: www.tinbatdongsan.com/vn/.
BẤT ĐỘNG SẢN is of course Vietnamese for real estate, and from a SEO perspective at least, this site has the market cornered. Viewable in English and Vietnamese, the site includes a law library, news feed and brokerage service. As the site reads: "You have properties and want them to be sold out or rent out quickly?
"You are very busy to sell or rent them?
"Let us do that for you.
"With reasonable fees 1% of total value for each sold property or 1 month rental for each leased property or you allow us to earn the markup value if you donft want to pay the above fees.
"Just fill out the Form then send to us with 1 – 8 photos of your property to: info@tinbatdongsan.com..."

Chao Co: Phone: 84-913-804-550. Web: www.chaocom.com. Email: davidhousing@gmail.com.
This website, written in English and Japanese, prvides a full range of services for expats in Vietnam -- from real estate to car rental and travel plans, to business investment consultancy.

Like other invaders from the past, Craig is on his way to conquering Vietnam. Well, at least the classified real estate market in Vietnam (and they say that land equals power!) For the latest offerings from Ho Chi Minh City, hit Craig up.

Easy Property: Phone: 848/840 7962. Web: www.izproperty.com/.
This website touts itself as Vietnam's premier real estate services network. It is a big claim to make, but the listings at Easy Property are in a word, exhaustive. A huge range of properties are listed, ranging from serviced apartments in District 3 (the rent is between US$1100 to $2100 a month) to potential golf course sites in Dong Nai Province, to the entire Hoa Binh Towers in the capital Hanoi, to "possibly the best villa in An Phu" (that one is going at US$6000 a month in rent.)
Along with all the listings, Easy Property has realms of important information about the state of the rental and real estate market in Vietnam. There are nuggets of information like this, concerning international standard serviced apartments: "Ho Chi Minh City only has a combined stock of serviced apartments of about 2,000 units, an inadequate number relative to the ever increasing demand. Thus rentals have almost doubled in less than 5 years to the current levels. However, local investors have recently seen the investment opportunities available and are thus now rapidly filling the supply gap with a wide variety of new developments, both big and small.
"However, given the relatively stable number of expats living in Vietnam, coupled with strict new foreign employment registration stipulations, and the dramatic increase in stock, one can foresee rentals falling to levels more in line with those of ASEAN regional competitor cities over the course of the next few years.
"The largest and best located serviced apartment buildings with the widest range of facilities and services were constructed in the mid to late 1990's by foreign developers with deep pockets – typically USD$20+ million Joint Ventures. Since then, very few foreign investors have ventured into the domestic market. These established buildings have all had average occupancies of over 90% since @2002 and so are able to command premium rentals. Some offer short term accommodation (at up to USD$50/sqm per month) but many have waiting lists and so are only interested in minimum 12 month contracts. The majority of these are in the downtown area but some are a 20 minute commute."

Living in Vietnam: 42/63 Nguyen Hue Street, Dist.1. Phone: 08/291 0366. Web: www.livinginvietnam.com/travel.htm.
There is a lot of information on this website about living in Vietnam, how to get a visa or a job, and how to deal with the people in Vietnam. There is also a forum for travellers and expatriates, and lesson plans for those wanting to study Vietnamese. For those looking for real estate in Saigon (or Hanoi for that matter), this website also delivers. For example, if you were hoping to rent a two-bedroom apartment in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City's District 1, you might be able to find one for US$1200 a month. If a French colonial style villa with three bedrooms, garden and a swimming pool was closer to what you were looking for, you could find one in District 3 for US$3000 a month. These are just some of the current rental properties listed on Living in Vietnam. There is a whole database of listings there, from apartments to office blocks -- it it is worth checking out.

Property World: Web: Property World Vietnam.
As the name suggests, Property World has a searchable database of properties all over the world. Bulgaria seems to get a good representation in the database, given that country's current popularity with European buysres. When it comes to Vietnam, on the other hand -- well, in a recent search for properties for sale in Greater Vietnam ranging in price from US$0 to US$1000000000, Property World only returned one result. This was a property in the Saigon Pearl development at 92 Nguyen Huu Canh, HCMC. You can read about Saigon Pearl further down the page under the "Coming Developments" header.

Vietnam Total: http://realestate.vietnamtotal.com/.
This site has plenty of listings and information about properties in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh and other cities like Vung Tau. At the time of writing (February 2007) there are family houses listed on Vietnam Total at Nguyen Huu Canh ($117,000), a stunning beach front property on Tran Phu St in Vung Tau ($1,000,000), a rubber harvesting farm in Bing Duong ($2,064,000), and a rental property in Hanoi (no price given). The website also offers a limited news resource including this recent story (recent for February 2007): "US-based Rockingham Asset Management company has gotten the license for its $1billion resort on Phu Quoc Island in southern Vietnam. The island will be a luxury resort with more than 2,000 rooms and villas for rent, a 6-hole golf course, a motor racetrack, a tourism school, and other tourism facilities. The resort should be completed in 2015."

VVG Property Development: http://www.vvg-vietnam.com/prop_dvlpmnt.htm.
This piece of online property lists land and resort developments, including the Cua Lap Beach Resort
Development. The website claims: "A very visible sign of Vietnam's leap towards the 21st century is the horizontal construction sector (hotels, multiple-dwellings, and offices). On these pages, we feature the Ho Chi Minh City Region, with emphasis on Vung Tau and Saigon. The HCMC region (including Bien Hoa, Binh Duong, Vung Tau and Saigon) has a real (unofficial) population in excess of 11 million people, more than half the total foreign invested capital (US$ 25.15 billion or 55%), and 3,147 (63% of all) foreign invested projects (Jan05).
"
"
The site boasts a section called Monday in Saigon, a photographic database of developments in the business capital over the years. Monday in Saigon promises:
"Many people interested in Vietnam, both those living here and abroad, enjoy photos of boys on water buffalo, women in conical hats of straw, street vendors hawking almost everything, the polychrome vistas at outdoor markets, and the fast-moving motorized traffic, peppered with ox-drawn carts.
"Foreign and Domestic visitors to HCMC rarely lift their heads up to see all the new signs of economic growth. Most are too busy running and dashing about, looking forward. Particularly when driving or crossing the streets of this bustling metropolis, rarely do we lift our eyes to see what has grown around us.
"The V V G Staff began taking photos for these pages in December 1997. We are constantly updating them to keep up with developments. The most recent photos were taken only days before this page was last updated.
"Here are photos of vertical construction. We want potential investors to see the City of today and tomorrow, not just yesterday. Every new building pictured has been completed in the past four years. We also show buildings in which construction waits to recommence, and sites where it has not ever begun. A few older structures recently renovated are also shown simply to retain the flavor of what is still Saigon."

h i g h r i s e + d e v e l o p m e n t s

ONE OF THE AMAZING THINGS ABOUT VISITING HO CHI MINH CITY REGULARLY IS NOTICING JUST HOW FAST THE SKYLINE OF THIS CITY CHANGES. New buildings go up all the time, transforming this once low-rise sprawling tin shack kind of city into another Oriental supermetropolis -- another Bangkok or Singapore. Inside those high-rise steel and glass needles are often where foreign residents prefer to live. If you want to know about coming developments of a high-rise nature, you are in the right subdirectory.

Before we start, here is a word from San Francisco architect Mel Schenck, who wrote: "Most of the housing in Ho Chi Minh City, like all of the other cities in Vietnam, is four or five stories tall. This is true for new middle-class houses even in the smaller villages. I understand there is some new high-rise housing in Hanoi in the new suburban new urban areas, but I did not get out to see them. In HCMC, some Taiwanese investors built a new high-rise apartment complex in the Cholon (Chinese) area of Saigon. Very few of these apartment or condo units have been rented or sold. In speaking with some HCMC citizens, they felt that they had not sold because the units are too expensive compared to normal units in Saigon, and the Vietnamese much preferred the walk-up four-story houses to the elevatored high-rise housing. This is certainly counter to the Chinese pattern of replacing low-rise housing in all of their cities with high-rise housing.
Interestingly, the density of population per hector or acre for these high-rises is about the same as low-rise housing since these new high rise towers are usually towers in the park with a lot of space (usually wasted, in my opinion) around them. I vote with the Vietnamese -- I prefer my density in active low-rise units rather than sterile units in the sky, unless the high-rises are as dense as in Hong Kong."

<<Hoang Quan Plaza: 34 Le Duan St (corner of Pham Ngoc Thach St), District 1. Phone: 848 825 7750. Email: ibcourt@diamondplaza.com.vn. Web: www.diamondplaza.com.vn/.
Plaza seems to be the buzz word of the decade in Vietnam, it creeps up in development names as insidiously as "Hills" does in Tokyo, Japan. There are any number of "plazas" in Ho Chi Minh City and greater Vietnam at the moment, none of them true plazas in the Italian sense of the word. It doesn't matter, because Tokyo doesn't really have any real hills (unless you count tall buildings as hills.) In Asia these days English or Italian or French words are only used for decoration, the same way westerners cook Asian dishes at home without comprehending the cultural matrix from which they sprung. Postmodern, but potlatch it ain't.
This particular non-plaza is located in the going off south of Ho Chi Minh City, near the Nguyen Van Linh highway.
Comforts:
- The apartments are designed luxuriously, modernly, and warmly.
- Restaurant, health care center, swimming pool, recreation-shopping center, kindergarten, park, basement garage, c
- Professional management board and security staff make sure 24/24 security.
- Intercom/Video phone systems help the hosts to easily identify their guests.
- Elevators and stairs are set up reasonably to make sure thorough and safe transport.
- Central gas and American technological Notifier automatic fire alarm systems are installed at each apartment.

Saigon Pearl: 92 Nguyen Huu Canh Street, Binh Thanh District. Phone: 848/821 9999. Web: www.saigonpearl.com.vn/home.htm.
According to the promotional material, Saigon Pearl, a high-rise apartment complex on Saigon River, represents "the largest, most elaborate development ever created in Vietnam." Due to come online from 2007 to 2009, Saigon Pearl incorporates eight 37-storey apartment buildings, a lavish clubhouse, two office towers and a large-scale shopping mall. Quoting from that promotional material again: "Picture living right beside the enchanting Saigon River, surrounded by a tropical paradise of natural and landscaped gardens. Watching clouds of mist swirl across the water as you prepare for the day ahead. Here, secluded from the rush and roar of daily life, the natural beauty of the scenery constantly seduces you..."
The following properties are available for sale: two-bedroom unit, three-bedroom unit, and penthouse. Visit the website listed above to find about pricing and other details.

<<Zen Plaza: 54-56 Nguyen Trai Street, District 1.
Zen Plaza is a 14-storey tower in the heart of Saigon consisting of an 8-storey shopping complex, five floors for offices and a penthouse for events. Hit Chaocom if you are interested in hiring some of that office space. You will also be able to see floorplans and a price list. The building itself is something of a landmark with its distinctive black and white facade, and is a popular meeting place. I myself was due to meet Jennette, a local Chinese lass, outside the front of Zen during my visit back in March 2007, but the venue was changed to Ben Thanh Market. True to the Japanese sounding origin of the tower's name, on the 7th floor of the Zen Plaza you will find the Sushi Bar, whose motto is "not only tasty but funny". In fact, this whole building is like a little chunk of Japan dropped into the heart of Vietnam, and thriving in its new environment. At Zen Plaza, the emphasis is on fashion.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee: "In August 1999, Nhat Nam Shopping Center was put into operation as a joint venture between Vietnamese and Japanese partners. In August 2002, the Ministry of Planning and Investment endorsed the plan to turn the joint venture into a 100% Japanese-owned project, and in October 2003, Zen Plaza came into being.
"The difference between Nhat Nam and Zen Plaza is that Zen specializes in fashion. 'We see Vietnam's potential in this industry,' Fukukawa says. 'First, many more Vietnamese are interested in fashion as the economy develops.' Another reason for Zen to be a fashion center is because this 12-story building is on the part of Nguyen Trai Street dubbed Saigon's fashion street. A third reason is that Vietnam has a strong garment industry and a contingent of young and talented designers.
"However, these young designers are encountering difficulties in developing their career. 'They lack professional training, lack materials to realize their creations, lack a stage to make the public know about their designs and lack capital for start-ups,'
Fukukawa says.
"One of Zen Plaza's ambitions is to help bridge these gaps by providing young designers with finance and space so that they have a place to show their creativity. Zen is one among a few organizations in Vietnam to hold regular fashion shows. These shows always feature young designers.

c o m i n g + d e v e l o p m e n t s

THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING GOING ON IN HO CHI MINH CITY, SOME NEW DEVELOPMENT OR MAJOR PUBLIC WORKS PROJECT. Here are some of the latest developments and coming attractions:

<<Asiana Plaza: 39 Le Duan Boulevard, District 1.
If you think the name of this 13,600 square metre complex has a vaguely Korean sound, you would be right: it was developed by a partnership including Kumho, the 8th largest conglomerate in South Korea and the owner of Asiana Airlines. As with all great developments there has been a lot of controversy with the development of Asiana Plaza, but at the start of 2008 I did a walkby of the site with my new Vietnamese girlfriend, and it seems to be coming online. Surrounded by Le Duan, Hai Ba Trung, Nguyen Du and Le Van Huu streets, Asiana Plaza when finished will comprise a luxury apartment building, a five-star hotel and retail stores.
As VietnamNet reported: "As planned, Asiana Plaza, invested in by Asiana Plaza Saigon, a member of the Republic of Korea's (ROK) Kumho Group, has the total investment capital of $223mil. The complex will cover an area of 13,632 sq m at No 39 Le Duan street in district 1, the most advantageous position in the city, which many investors have been eyeing.
"The complex will consist of three buildings, including a 21-storey office building, a 21-storey international hotel, a 32-storey apartment building, and a trade centre area.
"The complex will be situated near other high-grade buildings of the city, including Diamond Plaza, Sofitel Hotel, Prudential's office building, Saigon Tower and Metropolitan. It will also not be far from the buildings of the US and French General Consulate, Cathedral and the city's Post Office. Located in such a position, the complex will be especially valuable and it is hoped will bring a new face to the city.

<<Cantavil House Complex: An Phu Ward, District 2.
With construction expected to be completed by 2012, the Cantavil House Complex will comprise 200 top-end flats and offices for rent in two 36-storey towers (according to VOV News.) The development will also include an international trade center, recreational area, cinema and swimming pool.

<<Thủ Thięm Peninsula: Major development plan. Click here for full and emerging details.

c o n d o m i n i u m + j o i n t s

HERE IS AN EXCERPT I FOUND ON SkyScraper City, CONCERNING THE CONDO SCENE IN SAIGON AND VIETNAM IN GENERAL:

"Condominiums in Ho Chi Minh City have been in high demand for the last two months, despite the fact that prices have gone through the roof.

"Over the past two weeks, Ms. Kim Loan from the Central Highland province of Lam Dong has been trying to find a condo in the city for her daughter, who is to start university next year.

"A real estate agent showed her a 364-million VND condo at the An Loc Apartment Building in Go Vap District and another in Binh Thanh District at nearly 1 billion VND.
"'Possibly I will choose the one in Go Vap District, a 64-square-meter condo with a living room, a bedroom, and a bathroom,' she said.

"An Loc, a newly built 12-storey apartment building, is about to be put into service. Most of its condos are already sold, but some owners will transfer ownership for those willing to pay a few dozen to a hundred VND million higher, according to property companies.

"Following the increased demand many condominiums, particularly high-quality ones, have been constructed in the city. In mid-September, a nine-storey apartment building comprising 174 condominiums and covering an area of over 4,600 square meters in Thu Duc District was inaugurated. Up to now, 110 condos have been sold at 6.5 million VND per square meter.

"Meanwhile, construction of a high-quality 18-storey complex in Binh Thanh District just began recently. Each condo will be 80 to 93 square meters in size, with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and a living-room, with a price tag of 780 to 945 million VND.

"However, these prices are far less than those in the city center. A My Vinh condo in District Three is selling for US$137,000. Forty-four of its 62 units have already been sold although construction of the building itself will not be completed until next year, reported its investor Thao Loan Co., Ltd.

"Thao Loan Co., Ltd. is also building another first-rate 12-storey complex in District Three. The price of each unit will range from $US 150,000 to 170,000.

"The demand for condos is on a sharp increase, commented Le Quang Hang, Deputy Chief Executive of the Hoang Quan Real Estate Co., Ltd. Therefore, the firm is planning to build more condos in the near future. The Hoang Quan Company targets young customers who are interested in condos because they are affordable, Mr. Hang said.

"High-quality condos have sufficient family conveniences, a nice environment and good security conditions, explained Deputy Director of the Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank Real Estate Supermarket Vo Dinh Quoc. Also, most of these properties are located in the city center, he added.

s e r v i c e d + a p a r t m e n t s

HERE IS A SELECTION OF SOME OF THE HOTTEST SERVICED APARTMENTS ON OFFER IN THE CITY OF SAIGON, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS HO CHI MINH CITY:

Saigon Domaine Serviced Apartments: Binh Thanh District.
Saigon Domaine is just 10 minutes by speedboat (15-20 minutes by car) from the city center, and affords a beautiful riverine position. This development comprises 45 units ranging from a 72 square metre one-bedroom apartment to a huge 377 square metre, four-bedroom pad. Units come in a variety of layouts, but all of them are gifted with large sliding windows that open onto spacious terraces or loggias with breathtaking view over Saigon River and the south Vietnamese countryside.
Some of the facilities at Saigon Domaine include a fitness center and saunas, open air children's and adult's swimming pool (see the attached pic), children's playroom, Club Room for meetings and entertainment diversions, an inhouse catering service, attendant bars and a mini-shop, and a boat and bus service to the city center (the boat probably provides the more scenic view.) Car and boat rental (for folks who like nothing better than messing about in boats) and daily housekeeping services are also available.
Recreational possibilities for residents include water skiing and fishing, jogging and taekwondo, piano and dance classes, and aquatic gymnastics and aerobics and ping pong. It should be noted that Saigon Water Park is just minutes away!